A quick set of sketches for the revitalisation of some local public space.
Increasing the viability/sustainability of a much loved local resource with some additional covered (both permanent and temporary) external space.
This development along with three new sites, a selection of small works and ongoing projects means January (and 2019) is set to be a busy one.
The images below show what is possible when using 3D design and rendering software to visualise a retail store:
If this looks like something that could be useful for your project, why not get in touch?
Here’s a quick water colour of our latest proposal. This modest extension is to be timber framed with a black weather board style finish and matching reclaimed roof tiles.
Looking for Architectural Design, Planning or Measured Surveying services? Why not get in touch to see what CLOCKWORKLIME can offer?
CLOCKWORKLIME gains planning permission for a further 2 properties in the Colchester area, with several more expected in the early part of 2017.
Looking for Architectural Design, Planning or Measured Surveying services? Why not get in touch to see what CLOCKWORKLIME can offer?
In our experience, many architects, surveyors and designers keep the tools of their trade locked tightly away out of sight, for fear that letting competitors know what to use could damage their business. The truth is, your skill in using the tools counts for a lot more than what you use and should be all you really need to succeed. So in this spirit, here is a quick look at some of the equipment we use here at clockworklime ltd.
Our S120 laser scanner from FARO allows for the capture of measured survey information rapidly and extremely accurately. Once ‘stitched’ together, the scanned data reveals any given site, buildings or objects construction in ways difficult to imagine before, let alone measure. We strive to use this equipment to provide supremely detailed measured data to architects, design professionals, engineers, and builders alike.
For more info on 3D laser scanning please visit our website or why not read our article ‘What Is Laser Scanning & 3D Surveying’
The main camera we use is the Samsung NX300 with a 18-55 lens. This allows for versatility in the types of shots and subjects.
The main specs are:
– 20.3MP APS-C sensor
– ISO 100 – 25600
– Full HD video capture at 50, 25 and 24p
– 3.3-inch
– 768k-dot AMOLED touchscreen
If your interested in a full review:- SAMSUNG NX300
As for what we think, for the money this is a great little camera. It has the ability to produce some really dynamic and professional shots. The colour reproduction is great and the auto focus is exceptionally responsive. Also, the movable touch screen really lets you get some great angles. But if you are looking for something that can take super-fast or snappy low light shots, this is not for you. We find that it struggles in low light situations, particularly when the subject is moving. Luckily, buildings don’t tend to move about that much!
You may have noticed a little ‘modification/addition’ in the form of a mini tripod. This also folds up into a useful little handle, great if you haven’t brought along a full size tripod.
Now this little piece of kit is magic. It can take 360 degree photos & video in 1920x1280HD. When mounted to a tripod and placed at the center of a given space, it can provide a truly immersive experience. Great for condition surveys and as builts alike.
So far we’ve found that its simple to use, easy to set up, but the battery really could be better. We predict that you’ll be seeing 360 cameras more and more over the next few years.
Distos
No surveyor should every leave the office without one. The Leica X310 Disto is to us, the best value for money disto around. You get all the quality you’d expect from Leica, along with some extra features that the lower end distos lack, but without some of the super-high end features that most of us just don’t need.
One complaint we do have is, again as with most things electronic and portable, the battery usage is a little on the high side compared to some of the more simple distos Leica provides.
Laser Level
Something else we almost always bring along to any survey or even site meeting is our trusty little Leica LINO L2 laser level. Great for recording floor level differences and the like.
Tripods
Mount these instruments to a tripod like the TRI70 or TRI100 (both of which are in our kit bag) and you have a powerful set of measuring tools, if you know what your doing.
*FYI – We’re not sponsored by Leica, but if a Leica rep is passing by. An S910 or D810 would be lovely.
The structure sensor is a great little gadget for quickly capturing objects in 3D. If you’d like to know more about how it works, structure.io has all you need to know.
We’ve used the word ‘gadget’ deliberately, as compared to professional 3D capture hardware like those manufactured by FARO, the Structure Sensor is light years behind. But if you need to grab a little piece of architectural detail to add in to a 3D model prior to rendering, it can be very handy to have this in your kit bag.
Another great little gizmo to have on you as a surveyor or designer is this little thing. The NIX colour sensor does exactly what you would expect, it can accurately detect the colour of almost any surface and record the data to your smart phone (It will even let you know where the closest place is that can mix paint for you!). Very handy for matching objects, materials and surfaces to RGB, CMYK or Hex colours.
Now here is a controversial but exceptionally useful piece of kit.
Our DJI Phantom 3 Professional allows for capture of up to 4K video footage at 30fps and 12 megapixel stills that provide an amazingly clean, crisp and dynamic images with over a 90 degree field of view, all shot from a 3 axis gimbal, ensuring perfect stability. Extra batteries are a must for this piece of equipment, even though each battery can supply up to 24mins of flight time, in our experience in the real world you’ll see 20, but will want to keep 5 of that in reserve just in case. This amazingly stable and advance piece of equipment also allows for topographical data acquisition using specialized software, which can be used to generate site maps or even 3D scale models.
But do think that anyone can go and buy one of these and start working the next day, because you can’t (sorry). At the moment (as of 20/05/16) it is illegal to conduct aerial works without a license from the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority).
So there you have it, a quick run through of the tools we use day to day. Obviously this doesn’t include software etc, but we’ll leave that for another day.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article. If you found it useful, we’d really appreciate it if you’d ‘like’ and ‘follow’ clockworklime.com.
Last week i was approached by iRateiSlate.co.uk to give their logo a little refresh. Heres the old logo:
Here a nice simple statement which rounds up what iRateiSlate is all about, its taken form the companies About Us page.
“iRateiSlate is a brand new digital platform designed to improve Customer Service Levels. The aim is to resolve customer complaints, Restore Consumers’ faith in the UK Marketplace and help Brands manage their online Reputation. Launched late in 2012 and gaining traction rapidly, iRateiSlate is becoming a concept that is revolutionising the Customer Service Industry.”
And heres what the client chose as their replacement:
As you can clearly see, the difference is pretty much limited to the central symbol/logo, heres how we got there.
Initially, the client asked for a timber icon and something fresh, trendy, vibrant etc. So i broke away from the original completely, mainly to see where the boundaries were. So i sent over the concept sheet below.
This direction turned out to be to far from the existing, so it was decided just to change the symbol and ‘refresh’ the existing. The next set of concepts i sent across focused on the existing design.
This proved to be more successful. At his point i narrowed down the design to a couple of options.
From here the client pin pointed exactly what they were looking for and so the final logo and favicion were generated.
As always,
Thanks for reading! I would love to hear what you guys think, so please do leave a comment below!
Another PPH job, this time for a restaurant named Opium, There are some concepts i put together to send off with the proposal. i haven’t heard back from the client as yet, but fingers crossed. Personally, if the client does want to go forward i think i will offer a change in font as I’m not 100% on the one i’ve chosen.
Its been a while since i put together an architectural render, so i thought to myself ‘Steve, you should really get some practice in’. So while my better half is on a night shift i decided to put this together.
Now, its not perfect, as this is more a practice piece and experiment than a clients work, but to build the model, render and finish via image editing this took about 7 hours in total. And to be pretty honest, i wasn’t in much of a rush. But still, i think thats a pretty respectable time.
The model is loosely based off of the Stradthaus building in Hackney, which is a personal favourite of mine. So much so it will more than likely feature quite heavily in my Hons dissertation. For anyone interested, the Stradhaus is the tallest timber building in the UK and is a very interesting construction when looked at from not only an aesthetic view point but also an engineering one too.
Heres the photo i used as the basic back/foreground
So heres how it was done, first i build a pretty simple rough and ready model in sketchup. Apart from the ground each floor is an identical component simply rotated to provide the desired layout.
From there i simply added a few very basic colours, notice i haven’t added any textures, this could have added a little extra detail but on a model like this i didn’t feel it was necessary. Although a little superfluous, there is one material which is used for the windows.
Now the sketch up model is ready for a speedy render (+alpha render) in indigo RT. Heres the result.
This is where i now import everything into my image editing software. Up till now only 2 or so hours have gone by, editing the image into something useful takes by far the longest amount of time. And there you have it, the ‘finished’ piece.
If you would like a break down of any particular techniques or a run through of what i get up to in the image editing software please leave a comment below or drop me an email, i would be glad to help out (thats if i can), and on the flip of that, i would appreciate any critique, so if this is your bread and butter i would love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading!
Last week i was asked by Greenfield creations to mock up a few concepts for the upcoming Greenfield Prestige web site to be developed by thisisfever.co.uk. These mock ups are intended to give the developer a solid idea as to where Greenfields whats to go with the sites overall style.
Anyway, heres what i came up with. Feedback from the client was good, so i’m looking forward to seeing how the site comes together as its going to be chocked full of great features.
After receiving feed back from the client concerning the concept/style sheet i sent over to them yesterday i’v e worked up some final options.
Fist off, here is a sheet of option which the liked but wasn’t quite right.
And here is what i came up with for the final set.
Personally, i prefer the black and white version from the first sheet and the shaped colour options with the shadow from the second. But, as always it is the clients choice and i try to remain as impartial as possible.
Architectural Design and Measured Surveying Services 